Topic: Timber Bamboo

[Peggy]

Hi!!

I thought, I'd throw an idea in here... I saw for the first time, in  person, Timber Bamboo last fall. I was very impressed with the growth that it made in five years (according to the owner).

The more my husband and I talked about the more we have decided we want it. So, we are on the look out for a local source for it now.

But, we did research and found out that people make "bamboo lumber" out of this stuff... and some people use mature stalks to cut into short poles that they hamer into the ground and make flower beds (raised beds) with them.

I can't wait until we find some, we have many, many plans for this stuff... hehe!!

Just thought I'd share....Peg 

[Jim]

I just had to Google "Timber Bamboo" when I saw your post.  I see that is the clumping variety instead of the running kind that I have experience with.  Dianna and I lived in a house that someone had planted some bamboo in the back yard and I fought that stuff till we moved.  I still think it won the battle.

The clumping kind looks kind of interesting.  I saw one note that said it grew to 45 feet in 3 years.  That's definitely fast.

[Dianna]

The more my husband and I talked about the more we have decided we want it. So, we are on the look out for a local source for it now.

"What? Is she out of her mind?" was the first couple of thoughts I had when I read this.  

Before we married, Jim and I lived in a rental house that was over-populated by bamboo. He would mow the lawn and the new sprouts and they would be right back for him to mow the next time. The stuff was a very avid grower...
 
I did a little research on your timber bamboo and I can certainly understand why you would want it now. I didn't know that there was such a bamboo that wouldn't try to take over your living space. It sure is pretty. Good luck on finding it!

[Peggy]

OH that stuff that I saw was so lucious.. and green.. I can imagine being a little gil and running in and out of that stuff... hehehe!! 

And what I saw was growing in a clump.  I guess, my husband  has had experience with it as well, because he also said no until he heard it was clumping, and then he said, OK!  And he thought that we might plant some a few feet apart and tie it together to form like a natural gazebo, and arbors, and things like that.  I think it's going to be fun to try. 

Hugs, Peg

[Patty S]

Peggy, I take it that you didn't have your camera with you when you first saw the Timber Bamboo.  I know that you're cutting down those Poplar trees along your back fence... Is that where you'd put the Bamboo? 
It figures... you're so "thrifty, you'd try to grow your own wood! It seems like it would make great trellises, if you harvested some while its young & bendable.  People like to spend money on stuff like that, & you could make a fortune!

I don't think you're going to find any of it locally, unless you ask the people at Young's Nursery to order it for you. (I'd look on the Web first though... it might be cheaper there.)

[Peggy]

Ha! Patty!!!!

We found Timber Bamboo
(henon) at both Wintergreen, and the other nursery right there by it in Dillard!

We also found a place in Brookings that sells nothing but bamboo. But, we bought from the place there in Dillard.  i think they priced it wrong... cause we got a five gallon start for $33.00.  As i was walking out, i saw the same type of plant, in a five gallon, but 1/2 the size for $49.00.

the neighboring nursery had even smaller plants starting at $39.00. 

We still have to plant it, but I have researched it.  It will grow root structure for the first two years, and start sending out new shoots on the third. By the fifth year the stalks should be as big around as we will get... so five years from now, we'll see if we made  a good choice!

This kind of bamboo is considered a hard wood.. we envision bamboo floors, siding, gazebo....arbors, trellis, and raised beds with bamboo boarders!  lol.. maybe even a bamboo garage!  I have told my oldest that maybe someday she'll inherit a bamboo house! hehehehe!!!

hugs! peg

[Patty S]

Hey Peggy!

Looky what I got!
         

The neighbor lady & I were talking over the fence the other day, & I pointed at a big pot of something that looked Bambooish & asked her what it was.  She said that it was something called Timber Bamboo that her husband bought last year.  She went on to say that she's throwing it out cuz she thinks it's ugly, & her husband is dead now, so she won't get any flack for getting rid of it.  I told her that if she really decided to throw it oout, to throw it my way, cuz I've heard about it & might try playing with it.  Yesterday, I noticed that the big pot had been dragged over to my side of the fence!

This neighbor has been a real sourpuss since we moved in here, but now that she's alone, she's been a lot friendlier. She belongs to a different garden club than I do & we often chat about our gardens & she helps me ID a lot of the things I have growing here.  (Contrary to what Bonnie believes, I really don't know what many of my flowers are called!)  A few weeks ago, she had her front lawn removed, cuz she has a hard time starting her lawnmower, & she let me have several strips of her turf that the gardeners were cutting away, so I could replant them here in a spot that doesn't seem to want to accept the tons of grass seed that we've planted there. The old gal (I can call her that cuz she's older than I am!) can be a pleasant person, but still has a cow when anyone turns around in her driveway!

[Peggy]

That is very cool Patty!!!  if it's true timber bamboo, then realize it can get up to 50 feet tall, and 3-7 inch diameter stalks, and it grows out in clumps..

The first two years will be spent growing root system, then after that it will really start showing above ground. The shoots are edible, and the stalks are considered hardwood...

lol, when you are all stalked out then call me and I'll take them. hahaha!! I also read where this one guy here in Oregon takes his extra stalks to the local zoo for the zoo animals to eat (pandas, etc.) and they take it.. so when we get too much, we might be able to haul it to the Safari place..

I pray Clyde lives long enough to help me with this bamboo we have, cause, I can see being 70 years old and cursing it! hahahaa!!!!!

hugs, peg

[Patty S]

Personally, I wouldn't know the difference between Timber Bamboo & other types, but the neighbor cautioned me that it's invasive as all-get-out, & I could be sorry if I transplanted it from the container it was in.  (I like a challange!)

When we lived in Montana we had Bamboo along 1 side of our house that sounds more like the Bamboo that Dianna mentioned... it was deep green, rather than straw colored, & I swear it grew as fast as we could cut it down! 

This doesn't appear to be the same stuff. If it takes off & looks like it's getting out of hand, I'll give you a call, Peg, before it takes over my Iris row!  Meanwhile, when it gets a little thicker I'd like to mess around with it & see if I can make trellises out of it while it's young & pliable. Keith has promised me a new deck this year, so I'm not going to wait for the Bamboo to get big enough to save a few bucks!

[Peggy]

Hi Everyone,

My friend, Teresa who lives north of Eugene, Oregon sent me some photos of her Timber Bambo.

This stand is now about six years old.  Teresa told me that it took five years to reach the size that I saw it last year.  I would say from the size of the stalks that it is mature now, but it will still spread.

Wait until you see these pictures. The stalks have doubled in size from last year, if my memory serves me well.




The picture below is supposed to show the new shoots that have come up this year, and grown over and above last years growth.  I guess, once it's established, it kind of grows like a weed. 


Teresa is a small boned woman, very slim. That will help you put the stalk into perspective.

 
Of course, growing like a weed is what I want for the forseeable future, it's gonna take lot's of bamboo stakes to make my raised beds, arbors, gazebo, bamboo flooring, house siding...
and anything else I can think of between now and five or six years from now.  lol

ya.. I get carried away!!!  Bamboo bird houses??  Bamboo Stawberry plant hangers???
Have a good rest of the day! peg

[Patty S]

Sheeze! That's almost scary, how fast it grows, Peggy!

How far apart did you plant yours?  Looks like I'd better get out there & spread mine out a little, huh?  If anyone ever does develop the field next to us & builds houses, I could have a natural fence along our property line.  Looks like I'd need a big step ladder, so I could go out there & keep it trimmed (maybe constantly) to about 10 feet tall. (A permit isn't needed for plants... only "real" fences!)

[Dianna]

(A permit isn't needed for plants... only "real" fences!)

 

Thank you for this idea, Patty!  We may end up planting that bamboo on several sides of us! 

Thank you for the pictures, Peggy! I love how it looks! 

[Peggy]

Sheeze! That's almost scary, how fast it grows, Peggy!

How far apart did you plant yours? 

Ya it grows fast! I did not separate mine, and I am not sure that Teresa did either, based on the clump I saw last year.  Mine came in a five gallon container and we just planted it. I didn't want to disturb it too much and take away from it's growing season this year.  And because I had seen hers, I knew it would spread.

Yes, I have found lots of articles on Timber Bamboo on the internet, people keep it trimmed up for fence, and that is part of our thought process too...wind break, fence, and what is that new term... carbon offset. lol

take care, peg

[Peggy]

Thank you for the pictures, Peggy! I love how it looks! 

welcome!!!!

[Dianna]

I wonder if these could be started from cuttings? It would be very expensive trying to fence our property in with these, if we had to buy a lot of plants...

[Peggy]

I'll look it up and let you know, Dianna.

If you have a craigslist that is in your area watch that. I spent a year watching for it, gave up, and bought it, and now people are giving it away on there like crazy. 

www.craigslist.org

p

[Patty S]

carbon offset

Peggy!
If I say anything more, I'd probably be breaking a rule!

[Peggy]

carbon offset

Peggy!
If I say anything more, I'd probably be breaking a rule!

(snicker) Well, you know, we're going to be cutting down our 20 and 30 foot carbon offsets soon...

Ya, I was TRYING to be funny. I'm glad you enjoyed that!
hehehehe!!!

My mom in law will be here any moment to spend tonight, then she's off to Washington for a week in the morning. She'll be back in a week to spend some real time.  Fun-Fun!!
My house is clean.. now you can come and visit!!! 

I have lost the tag that has the Timber Bamboo's latin name on it. I just had it two days ago.
I'm looking for it so I can look the bamboo up for Dianna in her question about starting bamboo from cuttings.  ARGH!!!
P

[barleychown]

Propagation of bamboo is usually done by root pieces. In the fall bamboo sends out underground runners that will be the new shoots in the spring.

[Patty S]

I have lost the tag that has the Timber Bamboo's latin name on it.

I don't have your tag, but I believe the botanical name is Bambusa oldhamii.

[Peggy]

The more my husband and I talked about the more we have decided we want it. So, we are on the look out for a local source for it now.

Hi Everyone,

I've been doing some bamboo research.  It was prompted by the fact, that I looked up our bamboo (phyllostachys nigra, Henon) in my trusty and not dusty Western Gardening Book. 

What  I found out was that we were mislead by our local nursuries.   Henon gets large, up to 25 feet tall in our area where it gets colder, but the culms (the stalks) will probably only get 1.5 or 2 inches in diameter, with three inches being the absolute max!  It will reach maturity in about 10 years or so.   

Henon is NOT a Timber Bamboo. Henon, I have discovered, is a runner, not a clumper (as is most Timber Bamboo).  So, it's going to be harder to control. We are now trying to decide if we even want to keep it, and we spent $33 for a five gallon pot of it! 

We will continue to look for Timber Bamboo. There is a nursury on the Oregon Coast the specializes in nothing but Bamboo.  But, Timber Bamboo will grow to 20 - 50 feet tall, and get culms four to six inches in diameter.  This is what we wanted. 

I guess, we should have researched what we wanted specifically.  We asked for Timber Bamboo, and Henon is sold as a Timber Bamboo, but it isn't what we wanted.  What wanted is called: B. oldhamii or Oldham Bamboo, or Clumping Giant Timber Bamboo.

Just thought I'd share so that if folks are interested they will know.
Hope you are not as hot as  I am today! lol 
Take care, Peg